‘Things could go backwards’: Kezia Dugdale on safety, LGBTQ+ rights and the future of Stonewall Exclusive: Former Scottish Labour leader says she feels more scared as a lesbian today and calls for a kinder debate on transgender issues

How depressing that Stonewall should appoint as chair someone whose first thought on being appointed is to defend Rowling’s poisonous and dangerous campaign against trans people’s rights.

The oil shocks of the 1970s transformed the world - this crisis will have an even bigger impact New paper argues the twin energy shocks triggered by the wars in Ukraine and Iran will hasten the peak in global fossil fuel demand and usher in a new era of electrification

Trump "provides a dangerous example of what happens when leaders fail to learn from history. The current crisis offers leaders who reject Trumpism the chance to complete a clean energy transition that started 50 years ago in the wake of a conflict that was both very different & painfully familiar."

Collapse of key ocean current may release billions of tonnes of carbon If the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation shut down, the knock-on effects could release hundreds of billions of tonnes of CO2, raising global temperatures even further

Why tipping points are so terrifying. Not only could AMOC collapse plunge northern nations into extreme cold that could limit ability to grow food, but it risks releasing way more CO2 into the atmosphere, and triggering other tipping points, like the collapse of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet.

What happens to Britain's radical right if Orbán loses? Inside the money, power and patronage connecting Hungary and the British right

As Hungary votes, would recommend this piece about how Viktor Orban has used public money to bankroll an international ultraconservative network - including Roger Scruton cafes and €10k a month for failed Reform candidate Matt Goodwin

democracyforsale.substack.com/p/orbans-brits

Are we heading for ‘super El Nino’ – and what could we expect? Experts say climate pattern could supercharge extreme weather events and push temperatures to record highs

Are we heading for ‘super El Nino’ – and what could we expect?

Iran war could plunge 32 million into poverty, says United Nations ‘Development in reverse’ taking place involving rising energy and food costs and weaker economic growth

“A conflict like this is development in reverse ... You will see an enduring impact, especially in the poorer countries, where you push people back into poverty ... often the people who used to be in poverty, got out of it, and are now being pushed back.”

Meanwhile, we cut overseas aid...

"The global energy crisis sparked by the US-Israeli war on Iran could accelerate a shift towards renewable and nuclear power ... [IEA head] Fatih Birol said the current shock, driven by Iran’s closure of the Strait of Hormuz in retaliation for the attack, would reshape the global energy system."

As Iran war exposes global dependence on fossil fuels, the biggest emitters are reaping the rewards Worst polluters hold world’s future in their hands as they benefit from higher fossil fuel prices, but global trends favour renewables

"The current shock is only a blip. A far bigger crisis looms that will put the cost of living and recessions into an entirely new perspective. If we reach 2°C above preindustrial levels ... the economic impact of climate breakdown will be the equivalent of having a new oil war every single year."

Drilling more fossil fuels outta the north sea is dumb AF.

Here's 5 reasons why.

#ClimateCrisis #IranWar

Leading UK climate scientists warn against new North Sea drilling Intervention comes as political pressure rises for British government response to energy crisis caused by Iran war

65 climate scientists write to party leaders urging the UK to prioritise renewable energy as a more cost-effective response to the fossil fuel crisis than turning to the North Sea, where 90% of reserves have already been extracted, and more extraction would have little, if any, impact on prices.

Commenting on the PM's Press Conference this morning, @gredmondking.bsky.social, @eciu.net said:

"But if returning output through the Strait is as complex a process as some experts are predicting, the British public will continue to face mounting costs."
eciu.net/media/press...

💔 farewell to this gorgeous little soul - I miss him so much 💔

NEW from us: India's CO2 emission growth slowed to less than 1% in 2025, the slowest rate in two decades, outside of the Covid drop. This was in part due to record clean energy growth which helped push down power sector emissions and is projected to accelerate this year.

What is a ‘super El Niño’? Scientists predict record-breaking climate event this year Scientists are seeing warning signs that there will be a huge El Niño event this year — with lasting impacts on our climate

Are we on track for a super El Niño, and what does that mean for the climate (albeit this article has a heavy focus on what it means for the US)?

UK climate aid cuts ‘short-sighted’ and leave ‘fossil fuel profits untouched’ ‘Cutting this budget at a time of such intense global upheaval goes against the warnings from the government's own national security advisers and food experts’

‘Cutting this budget at a time of such intense global upheaval goes against the warnings from the government's own national security advisers and food experts’

‘Sheer fantasy’ to claim draining North Sea oil would would cut bills – experts Analysis by the Oxford Smith School showed more savings were possible through renewables.

🚨It is "sheer fantasy" to claim draining North Sea oil would cut UK energy bills. Crucial analysis by my friend and tutor Dr Anupama Sen, at @smithschool.ox.ac.uk

🔎 Copernicus highlights 'exceptional' wet conditions

➡️ February 2026 was the fifth warmest on record, with extreme rainfall and widespread flooding in western Europe and the third-lowest sea ice extent in the Arctic.
eciu.net/media/press...

@gredmondking.bsky.social, @eciu.net

Very few consumers in the world, maybe 1 in 8, are shielded from the rise in gasoline&diesel prices (in that their government subsidizes fuel prices). A common mistake is thinking that being an oil exporter will shield consumers. Only switching to clean transport&energy does.

Climate change is speeding up — the pace nearly doubled in ten years Earth is now warming at a rate of around 0.35 ºC per decade, fresh analysis finds.

Here is what the journal Nature has to say about our paper on the increasing rate of #globalwarming:
www.nature.com/articles/d41...

Europe is once again reminded of a structural vulnerability.

As I told @politico.com: “The fact is still that Europe imports most of its energy from other countries. And I think events like this just highlight how problematic, how risky that is as a strategy and how unsustainable.

@gredmondking.bsky.social: “We know net-zero is the only solution to limiting increasingly dangerous climate change impacts, but we also know net-zero represents exceptionally good business, something not lost on China.”

#alwaysbecharging www.ft.com/content/bf9d...

Shabana Mahmood to limit refugees to 30 months in UK Shorter asylum period can be renewed under hardline policy aimed at stopping rise of Reform UK

Nasty and cruel. And to what end? You can’t out-far-right the far right. So it’s cruelty to no end.

www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026...

New official stats: 0.3% ⬇️ in China's CO2 emissions from energy and industry over last year

eciu.net/media/press...

Huge news. Although should come as little surprise to anyone paying attention to China’s deployment of clean energy. Net zero is the only solution we have to climate change - and China’s first CO2 fall driven mainly by that deployment is good news for global efforts to get there.

Here's the fundamental flaw in Labour trying to out-far-right Reform on immigration. They're not going to convince voters to the right that they're 'tougher' than the far right, and they're also losing twice as many at the other end of the political spectrum.

Also, it's cruel and dangerous.

Study: Climatic 'tipping points' possible well before 2C warming threshold reached New paper details how up to eight irreversible environmental tipping points could be reached below 2C of warming

"...with current global warming at about 1.4°C, warm-water reefs are already in the process of passing their thermal tipping point ... 'This means coral reefs on any meaningful scale will be lost unless the global temperature returns towards 1°C warming or below very quickly'," researchers warned.

Deluge revives concerns about European food price rises Winter ‘pantry’ depleted as rains devastate crops in Spain, Portugal, France and Morocco

"A wave of extreme rain and flooding across the Mediterranean countries and north Africa has battered ... Spain, Portugal, Morocco and parts of Italy and Greece [which] function as Europe’s winter 'pantry', exporting tomatoes, cucumbers, avocados, peppers, berries and citrus fruit northwards."

‘Tinderbox’ UK may be one shock away from food riots, experts say Weakened food security could tip into unrest after a cyber-attack, extreme weather or conflict, analysis finds

"One shock could spark social unrest and even food riots in the UK ... because chronic issues have left the food system a 'tinderbox'." Issues including "the climate crisis, low incomes, poor farming policy and fragile just-in-time supply chains. These have left the UK dangerously exposed."

It is absolute and utter neglect to let this come this close to the wire just as the US has let most of its overseas broadcasting shutter.

‘Pulling up the drawbridge’: Alf Dubs criticises Shabana Mahmood’s plans for child refugees Exclusive: Labour peer, who came to UK as a refugee, says some ministers try to show they won’t ‘just do things because of their background’

Alf Dubs: “We must not run scared of Reform. They will always outdo us in hostility. What we have got to do is to say that certain basic human rights principles must apply. Do it very gently, argue for compassion.”